


Our Very Own Fairytale

by owleyes_n_moles



Category: EXO, Kpop - Fandom
Genre: Angst and Tragedy, Boats and Ships, Character Death, Fanart, Humor, I Tried, I don’t know anymore, Kaifectionery, Kyungsoo - Freeform, Kyungsoo’s hair is red, Little Mermaid Elements, Luhan - Freeform, M/M, Mermaid Jongin, Multi, Prince Jongin, Romance, Royalty, Sad ending?, Seas and oceans, description of violence, fairytale, fishes, i honestly did, jongin - Freeform, jongin is too cute, maybe? - Freeform, mermaid fic, nini, sad ending but still kinda happy?, underwater fight scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-02-23 00:07:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13178130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owleyes_n_moles/pseuds/owleyes_n_moles
Summary: Jongin, a mermaid boy is fascinated by a human boy called Kyungsoo. So he leaves him little precious stones as gifts without realising that every day he spends gazing at him, he falls in love with him a little more.For Prompt #: R2.174





	Our Very Own Fairytale

**Author's Note:**

> Firstly, dear Prompter,  
> Thank you for this absolutely glitteringly beautiful prompt. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. Thanks to your prompt I have had many beautiful days where I just sat daydreaming about the different scenes that could come to play out of it. I’m sorry that I’m lacking and have been unable to do justice to this prompt. But I tried. I honestly did.  
> =D
> 
> Secondly, dear Readers,  
> This is a fairytale. It’s based on a world of fantasy and the scientific facts don’t match up. So I hope you can kindly overlook these scientific inaccuracies.  
> I have drawn heavily from the original “The Little Mermaid” fairytale, which you can find [here.](http://hca.gilead.org.il/li_merma.html) Please do give read it if you can find the time. =)  
> Also, I wanted to give you a fairytale kinda experience So I tried my first attempt at fan art. But it sucks. So I apologise in advance. =]  
> Happy reading! 
> 
> Lastly, dear Mods,  
> You have been the most supportive and understanding mods I have ever met. I loved interacting with you guys and honestly, the only reason I finished writing this fic was because I didn’t want to let you down, especially after all the kindness and support you’ve shown. Thank you, guys. You rock.

                 

 

 Once upon a time, in a magical land far far away, lived a handsome little prince called Jongin. He was handsome, smart, polite, but above all, he was kind.

  
However, there was one thing different about him than your average prince. He couldn't ride a horse. No, no, it wasn't because he was bad at it. He just couldn't sit on a horse because of his tail.

  
Now, now, don't you go imagining him to be like a monkey. Monkeys aren't the only creatures with tails, you know. No, he wasn't a horse either. But it would be a funny sight: watching a horse trying to ride another horse. Oh that cracked me up!

What was he? He was a merman of course! No wait, Jongin would be very cross if he heard that. He was a mermaid. Not a merman, but a mermaid.

No, he wasn't a girl. He was a boy alright. It's just that he liked being a mermaid more than a merman. It was more true to who he was. He wasn't gruff and staunch like the other mermen. He didn't like fighting with swords or tails or claws. He didn't like violence.

He liked dancing with the waves and swimming with the fish. He liked laughing and smiling and being happy. He liked finding special stones and stringing them together to make necklaces. But most of all, he liked watching a boat from afar every time it came out to sea.

It wasn't the boat, per se, that had caught his interest. Rather a boy on the boat who had made Jongin a little more curious than he should have been. That is what Jongin told himself. He was curious about the boy. Yes, very curious.

  
Thus begins the story of a young merman, forgive me, mermaid prince who was having a crush for the very first time in his life and didn't know it.

 

 

 _ **Come Nini!**_ His sisters called as they swam toward the boats in the sea, holding their hands out to him and beckoning him to join them. Jongin swam hard and fast to catch up with them and take part in their little adventures but he’d always let go of their hands right before they got close enough to the boats.

 ** _Why Nini?_** His sisters asked him in thought-speak. Underwater, they spoke with their minds and not their mouths. _**Why won’t you come any closer?**_  
Jongin would just hesitate and shake his head.

  
_**Oh come on, don’t be shy. There are people on the boats. And they have legs! They walk around on legs! Don’t you want to see?**_

His sisters would always be full of awe and would speak in excited tones of these “people” who rode these boats. Jongin had learned of them during his classes but he hadn’t seen one yet.

 ** _Come Nini!_ ** His sisters urged him, holding him by his hand as they swam closer to a big boat. When they were close enough, they floated with only their heads out o the water so that they could watch the people on the boat in secret.

Jongin was in awe of these people, or “humans” as he had learned of them. They could stand! And that too on two stick like things! What were they called again? Legs? Could they swim with those things? What if they fell into the water?

It seemed like the gods wanted to answer him because right then there was a splash near one of the smaller boats off to the side of the big boat. A human had jumped into the water.

Jongin immediately dived down into the water to get a glimpse of the human. The human was swimming down into the water trying to catch something and when he got a hold of it he started swimming back up. Jongin was so surprised by the way he moved his “legs” pushing at the water and ascending almost as quickly as a mermaid in water. He didn’t seem like a human who lived on land but like a creature of the sea.

To say that Jongin was enraptured by the incident would be downplaying it. He was so mesmerized by the sight of the human swimming, his strong muscular thighs kicking at the water as efficiently as a mermaid’s tail, that he didn’t realize he was back at the castle until his brother, Kris, was knocking on his head to gain his attention.

**_Why are you so lost?_ **

Jongin shook his head, clearing all thoughts away. _**Nothing. No reason.**_

Kris narrowed his eyes at him, unconvinced, but then he decided to drop it. **_You should stop hanging out with the girls and start coming to practice._**

Jongin shook his head at his brother. ** _Not happening. I don’t like fighting._**

 _ **But you need to train. You’re a prince and every prince needs to know how to fight.**_ Kris tried to convince him for the hundredth time.

Jongin shook his head vehemently. _**But I don’t want to. I don’t ever plan on hurting anyone.**_

 ** _What about protecting the ones you love? Or even yourself?_** Kris stood tall, his size overwhelming Jongin as he looked up at his brother.

 ** _That’s why I have you. You’ll protect me. Won’t you?_** Jongin pouted at his brother knowing that he’d definitely lose his anger when he’d do that.

 ** _The King won’t be happy when he finds out that you’ve been skipping out on training._** Kris shook his head and started to swim away.

 ** _Well, that’s why you have to make sure that he won’t!_**  
Jongin grinned wolfishly as his brother swam away, muttering curses at him for taking advantage of him.

Jongin was glad that he had Kris. Otherwise, he’d have to bear the burden of being the crown prince and then the King. Luckily for him, Kris was there to take care of that so he could do whatever he wanted. He could be whatever he wanted. Even a mermaid.

The next day Jongin swam out with his sisters again. He wanted to see the boats too. In specific, one particular boat, but he wasn’t going to admit it to them.

While all his sisters swam towards the big boats, he stopped short when he spotted the smaller boat with the mermaids painted on the side of it. The boy was there, the one who could swim like he was a being of the sea rather than a human and with him was another older man. His father, perhaps? They looked similar and he referred to the man as “Pa”.

They were hauling a net into the boat. It was teeming with fish and they struggled under the weight, grunting as they pulled it into the boat with all their strength.

Jongin was fascinated. Very fascinated. He told himself then that the reason he was fascinated was because it was the first time he was seeing so many fish out of the water. He told his sisters that it was the sight of the net teeming with fish that fascinated him. He told himself at night that it was because they were standing on two legs and walking around that he couldn’t take his eyes off that boat.

But he knew he was lying to himself and everyone else. He was fascinated by the boy and he couldn't get him out of his head.

His fascination with the boy only grew as he swam out every day to get a glimpse of him on his boat. He heard the boy’s father call out “Kyungsoo” whenever he needed something and that’s when the boy would respond with “Yes, Pa?”

Was the boy’s name Kyungsoo? What would it sound like if Jongin called him that?

Jongin said that name, again and again, playing with the word and rolling his tongue to get it just right. He wondered how the boy would respond if he ever called out to him. Would he look out at the sea in confusion, wondering why he could hear his name being called out from the waves? Should Jongin hide under the waves or let Kyungsoo have a glimpse of him? What would Kyungsoo think of him?

Those were the daydreams that Jongin had as he watched the boy work on the boat, hauling in fish, sorting them out, throwing back the smaller ones back into the sea.

Jongin had a crush but it was the first crush he had ever had so he didn’t even know it. He just spent his days watching the boy on his boat and daydreaming about him.

On some days, when the weather was great, he’d swim out with his sisters to little barren islands. They were too small for humans to live on them so they thankfully remained uninhabited and free for them to use without risking being spotted.  
They’d lie on the sand, the waves crashing into their tails as the tide came in, and bask in the sunlight. On these days, he’d sing for his sisters and they join in too. All of them had pretty voices, but Jongin’s voice was the most beautiful of them all.  
Jongin would sing with longing when he would have to go a few days without seeing Kyungsoo on his boat. His voice would be filled with melancholy as he’d think of Kyungsoo and what he might be doing. He’d long for the human boy and let it out in his songs. One day, maybe one day, he’d sing for Kyungsoo.

 

As he continued watching the boy from far, he started wondering about the colours of the human boy’s hair, his eyes, his skin. He knew different things had a different colours; at least that is what his sisters had told him. He himself had never seen anything other than black and white with varying shades of grey in between. He was colourblind. Living in a world with almost no colour had never been much of a big deal to him. He could see, that was enough. But after he saw Kyungsoo, it wasn’t. His sisters told him that Kyungsoo’s hair was a russet red and his eyes a soft brown but Jongin didn’t know what that meant. What is red? And why is red not just red? Why is that red a russet red? What does soft brown mean? Does it mean that it’s soft to touch? Kyungsoo’s hair did look soft but then why would his eyes be a soft brown? Jongin didn’t understand and it made him sad but what could he do? He was born that way and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

Jongin was not someone who remained sad for long and he soon stopped pitying himself and instead started wondering what he could do to make Kyungsoo happy. Give him a gift, perhaps? What should he give him, though? A large swordfish? Maybe some pretty coral? Or some pretty and shiny precious stones? Yes, that sounded like a good idea.

So he went in search of precious stones. He was going tie them into a necklace and give them to the Kyungsoo. And when Kyungsoo would put it on Jongin would smile at him and he would smile back. And they would be best friends.

  
Jongin picked up stones that shone brighter than the others. He didn't what colour or shade they were but if they looked shinier, felt smoother or seemed prettier he collected them. Then he painstakingly sorted through the stones and strung them into a necklace.

The necklace was ready. All Jongin had to do was approach Kyungsoo on his boat and give it to him.

That didn’t happen. Being as shy as he was, Jongin sneaked up onto the boat in the middle of the night when it was parked at a bay like place with all the other boats and left the necklace on the wheel for Kyungsoo to find.

Maybe it wasn’t as rewarding as a friendship with the human boy would have been but the surprise and the smile on Kyungsoo’s face when he found the necklace was worth every bit of effort that Jongin put into it.

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo shouted, looking at the sea as if he knew that the gift was from someone hiding between the waves. “It’s beautiful.”  
Jongin felt something flip inside his chest and he smiled till his face hurt.

  
Jongin was smitten with the human boy. He thought of him all day. Wondered what it would feel like to see him up close. When he looked for shiny stones and they glinted in the light he thought of how Kyungsoo’s eyes glinted with delight whenever he saw the stones that Jongin left for him. Each time his face would break into a smile, his eyes would light up and his lips would pull up in the shape of a heart and Jongin would feel his own heart start thudding a little too quickly in his chest.

He thought of Kyungsoo all day. What would his hair look like up close? What did the colour red look like? Would his eyes glint in the same way if Jongin was right in front of him? Would he smile at Jongin in the same way? Aren’t lips supposed to be red too? Were Kyungsoo’s lips the same colour as his hair?

As he kept thinking about this all day every day, he found himself longing to see colour more and more. Never before in his life had he wanted to see colours with this much desire.

 ** _Is there nothing I can do?_** He asked his sisters. **_I really want to see colours. I want to see him in colour. Not just black and white. Is there no way for me to do that?_**

 ** _Well, there is one way._** One of his sisters admitted very hesitatingly. **_But it’s not a good idea._**

 ** _I don’t care. I just want to see him like you do. Just once. I’ll do anything!_** Jongin was distraught. He couldn’t bear it any longer. He was willing to do anything to be able to see Kyungsoo just like everyone else could.

She looked at him with pleading eyes. **_It’s not a good idea, Nini. You could get hurt._**

**_Well, it hurts more now._ **

And that is how Jongin learnt of the Nine-Tailed Witch who would change his life forever.

 

  
The Nine-Tailed Witch lived in the deepest and darkest part of the ocean that Jongin had ever been to. Barely any light penetrated through the water and it was freezing cold too. Jongin felt himself shiver and didn’t know whether it was because of the cold or because of the evil that he could feel around the place.

Jongin had hesitated at first when his sister had told him the truth about the Witch.  
She’s evil. She had said. She preys in the souls of others to lengthen her own life. She might kill you Jongin.

Jongin was scared. How could he not be? He could die at the hands of this evil Witch. But his yearning for the human boy, for Kyungsoo, soon outweighed his fear. In order to gain something, he had to lose something. That was the balance of life. He only had to be careful and everything would work out fine.

So he attached a small bone dagger to his waist by a belt (even though he barely knew how to use it), puffed his chest with the tiny bit of courage he had and swam out into the darkest and coldest parts of the ocean to make a deal with the Witch.

As he got closer to her lair he felt his resolve weaken but he didn’t let himself turn back. His love for Kyungsoo was far stronger than he had realised and it was fueling him with foolish bravado.

 

People do stupid things for love.

That is something that humans have said for many centuries, but apparently, it didn’t apply only to humans.

**_I see that your heart has been captured by another being. One that is not of these waters._ **

Jongin froze mid swim as he heard a deep voice boom in his mind. The voice sounded mocking, teasing but with a velvety allure to it.

Jongin looked around in fear, trying to find the source of the voice. It was so dark that he could barely make out a large ominous shadow getting closer to him.

 ** _W-wh-who-who are you?_**  
Jongin was stuttering because of the cold. Yes, because of the cold. He wasn’t scared. Who said that he was scared? No, he wasn’t scared at all.

**_Don’t be afraid, my little prince. I won’t hurt you. Not unless you consent to it, of course._ **

Jongin was even more rattled by the fact that this person-thing-creature, whatever it was, could read his mind.

 ** _Who are you?_** He asked again, trying to sound braver.

**_I’m the one you’re looking for. I made it easy for you to find me. I’m usually not this generous._ **

Jongin squinted, trying to make sense of the shadow in the darkness. **_Are you the Nine-Tailed Witch?_**

 ** _Yessssssss._** It sounded like a hiss; almost serpentine. **_Ask what you want, boy._**

 ** _I want-I want- want to see._** Jongin fumbled with his words, unable to form a coherent sentence while fear clouded his mind.

 ** _See?_** The Nine-Tailed Witch’s lilting laughter seemed to make the water around Jongin vibrate with a weird thrum.  
**_Here._** She said, a luminous glow emoting from her body and lighting up the place. **_Can you see now?_**

Jongin was too stunned to reply. He stared at the witch partly in fear and partly in wonder. He had seen nothing like her. With nine tails instead of one, she looked unlike any other mermaid Jongin had seen. She was different, yet the most beautiful of them all. How could she be a witch? She looked like a princess.

 ** _Yes. I am the most beautiful creature you’ll ever come across, my little prince. She swam towards Jongin, coming up close to his face and lifting his chin with one of her webbed fingers. But it doesn’t matter to you, does it? Your heart already belongs to someone else._** She tipped her head and smiled and even though she was beautiful Jongin could see evil in it. It made his scales go stiff and his heart speed up in his chest.

 ** _I told you that I wouldn’t hurt you unless you asked for it._** The Witch smirked at Jongin and teased him with her finger, running it on his chest in little circles. **_Now tell me what exactly you want._**

**_I-I want to see colour. Like everyone else._ **

**_Colour? Oh, my little prince, it must have been so hard for you all these years. Not being able to see colour is as good as being blind!_ **

**_I’m not blind._** Jongin argued, feeling small in front of the Witch who laughed again.

 ** _Of course, you’re not._** **_Now, I can give you the ability to see colour, but it comes at a price, my little prince. How will you pay me?_**

 ** _What do you want?_** Jongin asked, mentally counting how many precious stones he had in his room at the palace. If he fell short he’d ask his sisters to lend him some.

**_Your voice._ **

That answer made Jongin stop his mental counting. **My voice?**

 ** _Yes. In order to have something, you must give something of equal value. And since you want to see colours, you must instead trade me your ability to speak._** The Witch swam around in lazy circles as she said this as if it was no big deal.

 **So, I won’t be able to talk? Ever again?** Jongin was terrified. How could he give up his ability to speak? How was he supposed to live?

The Witch cackled, the water thrumming in that same weird way again, making Jongin’s scales stiff.  
**_Oh, you silly boy! You can continue to speak with everyone. You use thought-speak, don’t you? I’m not asking you to give that up! I’m asking for the voice in your throat. You rarely use that anyway. It’s not of any use to you at all._**

**But-but-I use it to sing.**

**_Yes, you do. And very beautifully, I must say. But you can give up singing for the ability to see colour, can’t you?_** The Witch swam up and down around Jongin, glowing brighter and making him dizzy as he spun around to keep her in sight. **_Imagine seeing how beautiful this world truly is! Imagine being able to see the orange of the sun, the pink of the evening sky, the blue of the ocean. Imagine finally knowing how beautiful he is. The Witch stopped and stared at Jongin as she said the last line. He is truly an exquisite sight to see. You don’t know what you’re missing, my lovely Prince._**

 ** _So, you’ll only take my voice? Can I still talk to my family?_** Jongin was apprehensive and scared, but this was a good deal, wasn’t it? He could live his life without being able to sing again. If he could get to see Kyungsoo, truly see him and not in just black and white, he could live without singing again.

 ** _Yes, only your physical voice in exchange for the ability to see colour. Do you agree?_** The Witch plucked one of her scales and held it out to Jongin.

Jongin plucked one of his own and handed it to her. **_Yes. I agree._**

 

                              **

 

Jongin didn’t miss his voice much after giving it up because he was now accosted by a whole new world. Seeing colour for the first time in his life he was overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of the beauty that colour gave to the world.

He could finally see how beautiful his precious stones were- red, blue, green, brown, orange, violet, yellow- so many colours!  
Also, azure, turquoise, cerulean- these were shades of blue but so different from each other. He didn’t know that shades of one colour could be so different from each other.

He swam around excitedly, getting his sisters to point out to every colour he saw and tell him what it was called. He was so happy. He had never been happier in his life. He had made the best decision ever.

 ** _But Nini_** , his sisters complained, **_we'll never be able to hear you sing again!_**

**_It’s a small price to pay for this. A very small price._ **

Most of all, Jongin was excited to see Kyungsoo and the first time he saw his little boat from afar, white and blue, with a colourful mermaid painted on the side, Jongin’s heart leapt with joy. He would finally be able to see him-Kyungsoo- his Kyungsoo. He was so nervous and excited at the same time.

 

Maybe Jongin was an unlucky mermaid. Or maybe the universe liked to put him in sticky situations because as he swam closer to Kyungsoo’s boat he found himself suddenly getting entangled in a lot of thread like things. As he struggled to get free he found the space getting smaller and smaller. There were so many fish around him and they were struggling too, panicking at the situation and trying to swim free.

What is this? Why is it closing around me? On no! It’s lifting up. Is it going to take me out of the water? What is it? But all of his sisters were too far to hear him.

Belatedly, Jongin realised that it was a net- a fishing net.

Oh no no no no no no no. Jongin kept chanting with a desperate hope that it wasn’t true. He would have to be very stupid to get caught in a fishing net. And he had to be even stupider to not be able to get free.

He realised that he was not only stupid and stupider but maybe even stupidest because he soon found himself hanging out of water surrounded by struggling fish as a very baffled human boy stared at him.

 _ **Hi.**_ Jongin tried to wave at Kyungsoo who was now watching him with eyes as wide as saucers. But the fish were flapping about in the net and ended up slapping him in the face so all he did was grimace in the ugliest way possible while meeting his crush for the first time.

The universe did hate Jongin after all.

 

 

“Am I dreaming?” A human boy, who wasn’t Kyungsoo, asked as they both stared at Jongin who was now lying in the boat among all the fish.

“Well, Luhan, if you’re dreaming then I’m dreaming too,” Kyungsoo replied. And oh boy! What a voice he had! Jongin felt his tail fin shudder as the deep baritone of Kyungsoo’s voice bolted through him.

Jongin had barely gotten to admire this human in full colour and now he was even gifted with the sound of his voice.

Kyungsoo was nothing short of handsome in black and white. Now, with the ability to see his russet red hair and bronzed skin, tanned to perfection by countless hours in the sun and the brown of his eyes, Jongin didn’t want to describe him as handsome, but beautiful.

“Hey, fish-man. Can you understand us?” The boy called “Luhan” was waving his hand in front of Jongin’s face, breaking him out of his reverie.

 ** _Fish man? What the fish?_**   Jongin curled his hand into a fist and snarled at Luhan. **_It’s not fish-man, you shrimp!_** Jongin was about spout more obscenities at him but then he realised that no voice was coming out of his mouth. His voice? Why couldn’t he speak? What happened to-

He started to panic and that’s when Jongin remembered what had happened to his voice.

**_Oh._ **

He had never thought that he’d ever need his voice. He had never thought that he’d ever have a chance to talk to Kyungsoo.

He visibly deflated and the two human boys started to panic, thinking that they had done something wrong.

“What happened? Is he dying? Shit. Maybe he can’t live outside water. Oh God Soo, we killed a fish-man! We are killing him!” Luhan started screaming and picked up a bucket of water and threw it in Jongin’s face. “Hey fish-man, are you okay? Can you breathe now? Fish-man?”

Jongin finally broke out of his stupor, rolled his eyes and caught Luhan by the collar of his shirt, making him scream loudly.

“Kyungsoo! Help! The fish-man is going to eat me.”

Jongin shook his head. **_No, I’m not going to eat you. Now, can’t you please stop calling me fish-man, you shrimp!_**

“Kyungsoooooooo! Helllllpppppp!”

“Oh for God's sake, Lu, can you shut up? I think he’s trying to say something.” All this time Kyungsoo was quiet, seeming very shocked at the sight of a merman in his boat, staring at Jongin with big eyes, but he seemed to have his wits about him. Finally hearing him speak and that too so calmly made Jongin feel at ease. At least he wasn’t freaking out. Jongin liked that.

“What do you want fish-man?” Luhan asked, scrambling away as soon as Jongin let go of him.

**_For you to stop calling me fish-man!_ **

But of course, they couldn’t hear or understand Jongin so he had to resort to other methods. Would sign language work?

So Jongin waved at them and smiled. **_I mean no harm. I’m a friend._**

Kyungsoo smiled at him and waved back. “Hi, I’m Kyungsoo.”

Jongin nodded. **I know.**

“You already knew?”

Jongin nodded again. **_Yes, I did._**

“So you’ve seen me before?”

Jongin grinned and nodded again. **_Seen? Heck I’ve been watching you like a thirsty crab for a while now._**  Maybe it was a good thing that Kyungsoo couldn't hear Jongin’s thought speak or he would have definitely freaked out.

“Well, I’m glad we finally got to meet. Even if it’s under these circumstances.” Kyungsoo gestured around the boat, referring to the way Jongin was trapped in the net. “I’m sorry for causing you trouble.”

**_Don’t worry about it. I’m glad we met too._ **

“It sucks that you can’t talk and I don’t know what you’re thinking, but we’ll figure something out, I guess.” Kyungsoo smiled at him and Jongin felt his heart flip.

Maybe they could be friends after all.

 

**

 

Jongin spent a lot of time on Kyungsoo’s boat after that day. But only on days when his father wasn’t on it.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for my father to know that your kind exist.”  
So Jongin watched his boat from afar on those days that Kyungsoo’s father came along.

On days when Kyungsoo’s father wasn’t on his boat he was accompanied by Luhan. On those days Kyungsoo would wave his hand as soon as he saw Jongin’s head floating above the water, beckoning him to come to the boat.

At first, Jongin didn’t like Luhan because he insisted on calling him Fish Man despite Kyungsoo reprimanding him but Jongin soon learned that he meant no harm. He was just being a brat.

“How do you even understand what he says?” Luhan asked as Jongin tried to sign vaguely about something Kyungsoo had asked. He was still working on his sign language, figuring out how Kyungsoo interpreted different actions.

“I don’t know. Trial and error? Sometimes I just can tell?” Kyungsoo laughed at that and Jongin felt his chest grow warm at the sound. He liked it when Kyungsoo smiled and laughed. It made him feel all warm and funny inside.

  
Many weeks later Kyungsoo had managed to teach Jongin the alphabet.

They both were sitting with their backs against the side of the boat, lazing in the sun. Kyungsoo kept pouring buckets of water on Jongin every few minutes to keep him from getting dehydrated.

“So can you spell your name for me at least now? It’s weird knowing you but not knowing your name.”

Jongin took hold of Kyungsoo’s hand and started tracing out letters.  
J  O  N  G  I  N

“Jongin?” Kyungsoo tested the name on his tongue.

Jongin smiled shyly, his face heating up and heart racing upon hearing Kyungsoo say his name out loud for the first time.

“Hi Jongin, it’s nice to meet you.” Kyungsoo held out his hand for Jongin to take and Jongin smiled as he felt Kyungsoo shake his hand. It was a human tradition, Kyungsoo had said. Jongin liked that Kyungsoo wanted to do human things with him.

More often than not, Jongin found Kyungsoo smiling at him instead of saying anything. Kyungsoo wasn’t very a very talkative person, though he did seem to open up around Jongin. But with Kyungsoo being inherently silent and Jongin being unable to speak, they’d spend quite a lot of time just sneaking glances at each other and smiling.

After a while, Kyungsoo’s father stopped coming out on the boat and it was just him and Luhan so Jongin would find himself on the boat almost every day.  
“My father is is old. It’s hard for him to do this work all day so I asked him to stay at home and help mother sell the fish at the market. Luhan and I can do this by ourselves,” Kyungsoo explained one day when Jongin asked him about his father.

  
On another day when Kyungsoo found Jongin watching him wrestling with Luhan for the last can of beer he explained, “Luhan and I are just friends. Childhood friends. We grew up together. We’re like brothers.”

Kyungsoo never asked Jongin why he was always on his boat and Jongin never asked Kyungsoo why he felt the need to explain his relationship with Luhan.

It went unsaid, yet they both understood perfectly.

 

 

Jongin was getting better with his sign language.

"So, how does it feel to be a merman, Jongin?" Kyungsoo asked one day, curiosity evident in his voice.

  
Jongin shook his head and made a flipping motion with his hand. **_Not merman, mermaid._**

  
"How does it feel to not be a merman?" Kyungsoo looked puzzled.

  
Jongin shook his head again. **_No, you dumbass. I'm a mermaid. Not a merman._** He pointed to himself and did the flipping motion again.

  
"Manmer? Is that what you call yourselves?"

  
Jongin threw his bed back in exasperation. He thought he was getting better at this. Then he got an idea.  
He cupped his hands and held them against his chest.

  
"I don't understand how lewd actions like these could help our conversation, Jongin."

  
Jongin hit his face with his palm. **_This is ridiculous. One last try then._**

He pointed to himself and then cupped his nipples with his hands. **_I'm a mermaid._**

  
"Are you having gender identity crisis, Jongin?"

  
Jongin flipped his tail and hit his hands on the floor.  
**_I give up. Forget it. Just forget I said anything._** Not that he had said anything, in the first place.

"Do you want me to call you a mermaid?"

Jongin's head flipped back up to see Kyungsoo looking at him with a teasing smile on his face.

  
**_You little shrimp! You were playing me all this time, weren’t you?_ **

Kyungsoo laughed out loud, his voice deep and rich, resounding in his chest and sending little waves of happiness through Jongin. Jongin joined in too, silent as ever, but laughing just as hard, eyes glinting with happiness.

 

**

 

“Do you want to see how we live on land?” Kyungsoo asked Jongin one day.

Jongin vigorously nodded his head.  
**_Yes. I’d love to._**

So Kyungsoo took him on a trip.

 

Kyungsoo had an old beat up truck. It was blue like the sky on a clear day with a shiny metallic grill in the front. The truck smelled like fish. It wheezed and grunted when Kyungsoo turned it on and Jongin found it to be loud and funny but he could see how much Kyungsoo liked his truck so Jongin decided that he liked it too.

Kyungsoo had blown up a kiddie pool and put it in the back of the truck, filling it with water using buckets that he filled from the beach and carried to his truck.

“Are you okay with fresh water? Or can you only survive in salt water?” Kyungsoo asked Jongin but he didn’t know so he had shrugged in answer.

“It would be so much easier to fill this pool with fresh water using a pipe connected to a tap, but let’s not take chances.”

Kyungsoo had driven the truck as far as he could out to the beach without risking his tires getting stuck in the wet sand and had huffed and puffed as he carried back buckets of sea water to fill the pool.

Jongin sat in the pool and watched him helplessly, feeling useless for not being able to help and also feeling sorry for making Kyungsoo work.

He caught hold of Kyungsoo hand on his tenth trip and wiped the sweat off his face. **_This much is enough. I don’t need to be submerged in it. You can stop now._**

“Are you sure only this much water is fine?”

 _ **Yes.**_ Jongin smiled at him reassuringly.

“Okay then. Let’s go.”

Kyungsoo drove the truck around while Jongin rode in his pool out back. Jongin would have liked for them to be together, maybe him in the cabin with Kyungsoo, holding hands, or Kyungsoo out back in the pool with him, but neither option was feasible right then and they had to make do with what they had.

But he was okay with this too. As long as he got to spend time with him.

  
The truck dipped into a pothole and the water sloshed out of the pool. Jongin was jostled but he found it funny, laughing his head off, not a sound leaving his lips. Jongin caught Kyungsoo looking back at him through the rearview mirror in concern, to see if he was okay when he saw Jongin laughing and smiled. He could only see Kyungsoo's eyes in the mirror but he could tell from the way they were crinkled that he was smiling.

As they drove around the countryside, Jongin watched the world in awe, admiring the mountains and trees and rivers and Kyungsoo watched Jongin in the rearview mirror, smiling at the wonder on his face.

So there they were, two boys in a blue beat-up pick up truck, both from worlds unknown to the other, yet having a bond that was stronger than they had with their own kind.

  
Some emotions are so strong that they can cross all boundaries. They hadn’t figured out what the emotion was called but they felt the connection that it creates among people.

 

**

 

Jongin was in his room when he was summoned to the courtroom one day.

 **It has come to my notice that you have not been attending any of the training sessions.** Jongin’s father, the King, informed him after Jongin had done the customary bow.

**_With all due respect, I have no interest in the army, your Majesty._ **

**_No interest? You do realise that this is not a matter of your interest but rather of what is required of you as a prince, don’t you?_ **

His father was a very big merman, the biggest of their kind, and truly fitting his position as King. In front of him, Jongin felt small, tiny. Jongin would never grow to that size. It’s a good thing that Kris was well on his way to take his father’s position, in size, power and skill.

 ** _I have done the basic training father. I can defend myself if need be._** Jongin twitched under his father's gaze. He was lying through his teeth but he couldn’t think of any other way to get out of this situation.

**_Defend yourself? Are you sure you can do that? What about attack? What if you have to go to war tomorrow? How are you going to attack your enemy?_ **

**With all due respect, father, I have no desire to attack anyone. I will never lead my people to war.** Jongin raised his head high. This was one of the few things he firmly believed in and he wasn’t going to back down  

**_That’s not the way it works. If you don’t fight, they will make slaves out of you or kill you._ **

**_Well, then I will have a short life or be forced into slavery. Either option seems better than taking another life._ **

  
Luckily for Jongin, his father was summoned to attend to some urgent matters of state and he hightailed it out of there before his father could punish him for his impunity. He hoped that his father would forget about their little spat and not summon him again.

  
Like every other day, Jongin made his way out to seek his source of solace. His new home. He liked to think of it that way because he felt at ease whenever he caught sight of the boat. His heart felt calmer and he felt happier. Kyungsoo made him forget all his worries.

“What is it?” Kyungsoo asked after Luhan had helped Jongin over the side of the boat and had offered him a cup of hot chocolate. Jongin had grown to like that drink after Kyungsoo had shared it with him one early morning.

Jongin shook his head. **_It’s nothing._**

“Do you not want to talk about it?”

Jongin shook his head. **_No._**

“You know, technically, he cannot talk about it,” Luhan piped up from the other side where he was tossing back the small fish into the sea.

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes at the other boy and kneeled down in front of Jongin and put a hand on his shoulder. “Do you want to do something later? It’ll make you feel better.”

Jongin looked up and Kyungsoo and raised his eyebrows. **_What?_**

“It’s a surprise.” Kyungsoo smiled cheekily and patted Jongin’s tail before getting back to work.

Jongin was still angry and sad about what had happened earlier that day but now he was also excited about the evening.

The “surprise” involved a wheelbarrow filled with water which Kyungsoo helped Jongin into and then took him on a stroll.

“My village is a small fishing village,” Kyungsoo told Jongin as he pushed the wheelbarrow between the trees that dotted the patch of land near the sea. “It has a total of 800 people. Everyone knows everyone and it’s nice sometimes but also sometimes very annoying because there’s barely anything that you can do without the whole village finding out. But nights like tonight, are special nights.”

Jongin strained his neck to look back at Kyungsoo. **_Why?_**

“Because no one will know anything that happens outside their house. You could stand on their doorstep and pee and no one would know.”

Jongin blinked at Kyungsoo, not understanding where he was going with the story.

“Tonight there’s lunar eclipse. On nights when there is an eclipse, the whole village locks themselves up indoors, they even cover up their windows and only come out the next day after the sun has risen.”

Jongin chuckled at this, finding it funny. **_But why?_**

“There’s some old stupid myth about going blind if you’re out when there’s an eclipse.” Kyungsoo struggled with the barrow as it hit a rock and Jongin shifted himself around to make it easier for Kyungsoo to tilt the barrow.

Jongin curled his fingers with his palm upwards and then pointed and Kyungsoo. **_What about you?_**

“I don’t believe in bullshit like that. And besides, this is the perfect opportunity to show you my village. I wouldn’t want to miss out on that.”

Jongin smiled at Kyungsoo and patted his hand. **_Thank you for doing this for me._**

“You’re welcome.”

They sat on the beach and watched the sunrise. They could finally see the moon now, no longer hidden by the eclipse. Seeing the sun and the moon is the sky, both at the same time, was a first for Jongin.  
“It’s like you and me,” Kyungsoo said, taking hold of Jongin’s hand and intertwining their fingers.  
“I’m like the moon: dull, boring with barely anything special to me. And you’re like the sun: shinning and glowing so bright I can barely look at you. The reason I can shine is b cause you lend me your light.”

Jongin wanted to tell Kyungsoo that it’s the opposite. That Jongin was the moon and Kyungsoo was his sun, but the way Kyungsoo was looking at him, his face glowing in the soft morning light that Jongin forgot everything he wanted to say.  
Jongin had only one thought in his head. He wanted to kiss Kyungsoo. But he was sacred. What if his breath smelled fishy? Would Kyungsoo be disgusted?

He didn’t have to suffer for long for Kyungsoo leaned in slowly, giving Jongin time to refuse if he wanted to, and pressed his lips softly to Jongin’s. It was soft and sweet but lit up Jongin from the inside, making sparks run up his tail and to his fingers. He felt his heart flip and his belly go warm and he just wanted to keep kissing Kyungsoo forever.

Later when they were back on the boat Jongin mustered the courage to ask him if his breath smelled fishy.

Kyungsoo laughed and ruffled his hair, kissing him softly again. “No, Jonginnie. It smells like the sea. And it’s perfect.”

 

Jongin had fooled himself into believing that he had managed to get out of the sticky situation with his father. Apparently not.

He was summoned to the courtroom as soon as he made it back to the palace to witness a very livid king staring down at him. Jongin knew that there was no escape. He knew that he had reached the end of his father’s patience and he was going to have to face the brunt of his anger and disappointment.

 ** _Where have you been?_** His father thundered, towering over Jongin and making him cower in fear.

What could Jongin say? He couldn’t tell him the truth. He’d be locked up forever if he did. He didn’t know how to lie either. Not convincingly anyways. Luckily for him Kris was there to save his sorry tail.

**_We were training far out near the reef. I was teaching him about stealth techniques._ **

Jongin felt his heart fill with gratitude towards Kris. He was the best brother he could have ever asked for.

 ** _Training? This little clownfish was training, you say?_** His father looked down at Jongin, narrowing his eyes at him.

**_Yes, your Majesty. He may not be strong, but he is small, quick thinking and fast. I thought that we could help improve his existing skills first._ **

The King seemed pacified by the answer. He gave Jongin one last piercing glare before returning to his throne. **_I’m glad you got some sense into that head of yours. You should thank the Goddess that you have a brother patient and kind enough to waste his time on a clownfish like you. Learn well and don’t waste his time._**

Jongin was dismissed. Just like that. He didn’t receive a second glance from his father. He wasn’t given the chance to speak his mind. He wasn’t given a choice when it came to his own life.

Jongin was about to give his father a piece of his mind when Kris caught hold of him and dragged him out.

 ** _Do you have a death wish?_** He asked him once they were halfway down the hallway. **_I’m not going to go out of my way to save your sorry tail if you’re going to just destroy it all._**

 ** _I’m sorry._** Jongin apologised, realising how he was foolishly going to destroy everything. **_And thank you. You saved my tail again._**

Kris scoffed at him. ** _I don’t think you need to thank me for doing my job. Saving your tail is like a full time job. And I’m not even getting paid for it._**

Jongin smiled ruefully at him. **_I’m sorry. I’ve been a very bad brother the past few months._**

**_Yes, you have. How is it going, by the way?_ **

Jongin blushed at the thought of Kyungsoo. Lately he had been thinking more and more about the human boy and merely thinking about him made him feel like there was a shoal of fish fiddly swimming about in his tummy.

 ** _I’m assuming it’s going great, if that face is any indication of how smitten you are._** Kris teased, poking Jongin in the side and letting out a tinkle of laughter. It wasn’t a laugh in thought speak, but actual physical vibrations from his throat, lacing through the water and vibrating against Jongin’s skin.

For a few seconds Jongin missed his own voice. He missed singing. But most of all, he regretted not having his voice because he couldn’t talk with Kyungsoo. Even if they tried hard and could read each other pretty well by now, he wished he could talk to Kyungsoo. Tell him that he looked handsome. Laugh loudly as he cracked a dumb fish joke that wasn’t even funny.

 ** _Did you really have to do that?_** Kris asked Jongin, as if reading his mind.

**_Do what?_ **

**_Give up your voice?_ **

**_It was a choice. I took it._ **

**_Are you happy with your choice?_** Kris stopped swimming and searched Jongin’s face for his answer.

 ** _What do you think?_** Jongin looked back at Kris in the eye, letting him see for himself.

**_I don’t think you regret it._ **

Jongin smiled. **_No, I don’t. It was worth it._**

**

 

With his father off his back about the training (thanks to Kris), Jongin had more freedom than ever before. He swam out and didn’t return to the palace, for 2-3 days at times, with excuses about training and coming up with creative and colourful ideas regarding different stealth combat techniques. Most of them were seahorse shit but the others didn’t have to know.

Jongin got to hang out with Kyungsoo for as long as he wanted and no one gave him heat about it.

One afternoon, Kyungsoo asked Jongin whether he wanted to do something special on land and Jongin wagged his tail jubilantly at the idea. He was always excited to go on land. It was risky and could maybe get him into trouble but his desire to spend time with Kyungsoo overrode all sense of caution.

That night, after dark, Kyungsoo carried Jongin through the trees to his truck and drove for a while. Unlike before, where Jongin rode in the back, Jongin got to sit in the cabin this time with a wet blanket wrapped around him to keep him from getting dehydrated. They had figured out how long Jongin could go without having to physically be in water and tried alternatives to increase the time frame.

Running his hand up and down the worn seats and the dashboard, Jongin let his hands wander and remember the feeling of the material.

Kyungsoo explained all about his truck as they drove there.  
“You see this round thing that I’m using to drive. This is called a steering wheel. It helps to change the direction in which the truck is going.”  
“These things on the sides are called windows. And that big one in the front is called a windshield.”  
Jongin listened to him with attention, eager to know more. He wanted to know as much as he could about the human world. He didn’t know why he felt so eager to learn. He had never been an eager student during his lessons, but he suddenly felt and urge to know everything he could about the human world. Maybe it was because he was awkward about the fact that he was ignorant of these things. Or maybe, it made him feel closer to Kyungsoo.

 ** _Where are we going?_** Jongin signed to Kyungsoo halfway through the ride.

“There’s this house. Well, more of a mansion actually. It’s just a few miles from my village. It’s big and beautiful, but no one lives there anymore.”

**_Why?_ **

“The man who owned it passed away a few years back. He wasn’t married and didn’t have any children.”

**_What about family? Brothers? Sisters?_ **

“I didn’t know. From what I heard, he was an only child.”

Kyungsoo went quiet after this and Jongin wondered whether Kyungsoo was thinking about being an only child too.

“You’ll love the place. Really.”

Kyungsoo was right. Jongin loved the place when he had barely seen the courtyard.

Tall, two-storeyed and white, it resembled his palace under the sea. A much small version, but similar nonetheless.

“You know what’s the best part?” Kyungsoo huffed out, struggling under Jongin’s weight as he carried him in his arms.

 ** _What?_** Jongin looked at him curiously. Kyungsoo suddenly let go of him and he let out a silent scream for those two seconds it took him to fall. He felt himself crash into the water and he struggled around for a couple of seconds before sitting up and looking around.

He was in a huge white basin filled with water. And there was a statue in the middle.

“This is called a fountain,” Kyungsoo explained, climbing into the fountain and sitting on the edge. “We humans use it as a decoration or something. Well, the rich people do. It spouts water usually. But this one is off so unfortunately, you don’t get to see that.”

**_We don’t have this back at home._ **

Kyungsoo laughed. “Of course not. What use would it be to shoot out water while being underwater?”

Jongin splashed some water on Kyungsoo just to give himself something to do and distract himself from the way his heart flipped at the sound of Kyungsoo’s laugh. And also as revenge. But mostly because his heart flipped like crazy whenever Kyungsoo laughed.

Soon they were both splashing each other and rolling about in the stale water of the fountain, but they didn’t care. They were enjoying themselves and nothing could bring down their happiness.

  
**Can we go inside?** Jongin asked Kyungsoo, pointing to the house and gesturing that he wanted to go in and see what the house looked like.

“That would be trespassing.”

 _ **Oh.**_ Jongin’s face fell. He really wanted to see the inside of the house. He wanted what the inside of human houses looked like.

“It’s a good thing that I have no qualms about breaking and entering. Especially if it looks like an abandoned house.” Kyungsoo grinned at Jongin, eyes wide with mischief.

 **You’re a bad boy.** Jongin teased.

Kyungsoo stuck his tongue out at Jongin. “I like to consider myself adventurous.” He helped Jongin out of the fountain and carried him around the house to a door at the side. “I mean, just look at me. Smuggling a mermaid into someone else’s house like a boss.”

Jongin laughed silently, slapping Kyungsoo in the chest.

With a little bit of tinkering they were able to get the door open and they sneaked into the house.

“This is what we humans call a kitchen. We cook here.” Kyungsoo told Jongin, swinging his phone’s flashlight around the room to get a view.

 ** _It’s dark._** Jongin waved in front of his eyes to tell Kyungsoo that he couldn’t see well in front of him.

“I know. But we can’t risk turning on the lights. Though I’m not sure if they would even get on. I wonder if this place still has an electric connection. Even then, we can’t risk it because someone passing by might see. We could get in trouble.”

Jongin puffed up his cheeks and blew out the air in a gush. That was his way of saying, that sucks.

“We could use candles though. They won’t be bright enough for the light to get past these thick curtains.” Kyungsoo pulled aside a heavy curtain to peep outside. “Yeah, these things are as thick as walls. Why did he want such thick curtains anyway?”

 ** _Maybe he didn’t like the light?_** Jongin was dragging himself along the floor as he explored the house on his own while Kyungsoo rummaged through drawers for candles. He felt a soft rug halfway through the room and was so fascinated by it he lay down on it and rubbed his back and tail all over it. Ah! It was so soft.

“Yeah, I think you’re right. He also apparently,” Kyungsoo said, holding up a few candles in front of his phone flashlight, “had a penchant for candles. It’s our lucky night, I guess.”

Jongin was only half listening to Kyungsoo because he was too busy rubbing himself all over the soft rug.

“What are you doing?” Kyungsoo asked Jongin, standing over Jongin with a lit candle and staring at him incredulously.

Jongin spared Kyungsoo half a glance before flipping over and burying his face in the rug.

“Is it soft?” Kyungsoo asked, chuckling at his fascination with the rug.

Jongin nodded. **_Yes. So so soft._**

“Then I guess we can sit here for a while before exploring the rest of the house.” Kyungsoo took one of the white sheets draping the furniture and dampened it with water to wrap it around Jongin before sitting down.

“What is your house like?” Kyungsoo asked, taking hold of Jongin’s hand and playing with his fingers.

 ** _It’s big. Like this house. But bigger._** Jongin spread his arms wide around his head to emphasise how much bigger it was. He pointed at the doors next. **_We don’t have doors, though._**

“Why?”

Jongin shrugged. He had picked up that habit from Luhan.

Kyungsoo was running his fingers up and down the veins on Jongin’s arm, tickling him.

When Jongin squirmed and tried to pull his arm away Kyungsoo narrowed his eyes at him. “You’re ticklish. Aren’t you?”

Jongin’s eyes widened in fear as Kyungsoo’s grin grew till it was nothing but pure evil. He attacked Jongin with tiny jabs to his side and feathery strokes along the back of his neck making Jongin laugh and squirm about on the floor like a fish out of water. Soon he was short of breath from laughing too hard and had to tap Kyungsoo’s arm to stop.

 ** _Please,_** he begged. **_I’m going to die._**

Kyungsoo smirked at him before relenting. “This is not over. I will attack again when you’re least expecting it. Consider yourself warned.”

 ** _Oh no. Please don’t._** Jongin shook his head vigorously.

“Oh, I will. I quite like making you laugh, you see. And no one can save you from my wrath.” Kyungsoo poked Jongin in the side one last time before standing up. “Come, let's explore.”

Jongin was in Kyungsoo’s arms, one of his own hands holding the candle and the other wrapped tightly around Kyungsoo’s neck, as they both explored the house. Kyungsoo explained what different rooms were for and Jongin asked him things he didn’t understand. Humans seemed to have a lot of similarities to merpeople it seemed. There were only a few things that differed when it came to housing. Kitchens for one, because merpeople didn’t cook food. Another thing that was different was plumbing. To say that Jongin was fascinated by the flush tank was downplaying it.

“No, Jongin don’t put your hand in there!” Kyungsoo shouted as Jongin tried to feel the swirling water in the commode with his hands. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes as Jongin continued to swirl his hand around without understanding why Kyungsoo was asking him to stop.

“I’m going to go find some good hand wash for you before I let you touch me again.”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and started rummaging around the cabinet, leaving Jongin to wonder why Kyungsoo was being so pissy about the swirling water.

Three thorough handwashes later, Jongin was smelling his lemon-scented hands and enjoying the smell. **_This smells so good._** He told Kyungsoo, waving his hand in front of Kyungsoo’s face excitedly.

All Kyungsoo could do was smile at him fondly and shake his head.

 

A sudden flash of inspiration made Kyungsoo drag out the free-standing bathtub in the bathroom into the master bedroom. The room had a fireplace and he wanted Jongin to experience what it felt like to sit in front of one but he was scared that the heat would dehydrate him. So he dragged out the bathtub and then filled it with water using a bucket. After helping Jongin into the bathtub that was placed a few feet in front of the fireplace, Kyungsoo started to build a fire. Luckily for him, there was wood in the crate on the side and all he had to do was get the wood to kindling temperature and poke it around a little bit.

 ** _Woah._** Jongin gasped at the size of the fire. **_That’s like a big candle._**

Kyungsoo laughed at the comparison. “Yes, it is like a big candle. This is called a fireplace. We use it to keep us warm in winter.”

Kyungsoo moved to sit by the tub and continue talking to Jongin but he felt a tug on his shoulder and saw Jongin gesturing him to get in. **_Come in. Sit with me._**

“My clothes will get wet, Jonginnie.”

**_Then take them off._ **

“Are you flirting with me Jonginnie?”

**_I’ve been doing that for a while now, you shrimp._ **

Kyungsoo laughed again, that wide unguarded laugh of his where his eyes twinkled and his deep voice thrummed it’s way to the pit of Jongin’s belly.

“Fine. But no taking advantage of me. Okay?” Kyungsoo teased, pulling off his shirt and trousers and climbing into the tub. He still had tiny black pants on him that Jongin had learnt was called underwear. Jongin understood why he didn’t take those off. Kyungsoo had told him about how humans were shy about some parts of their body.

 

They stayed in the water like that for quite a while. Jongin teased lazy circles into Kyungsoo’s calves, played with his feet, kissed his toes. Kyungsoo admired the fin at the end of Jongin’s tail, traced the pattern of his scales with his finger and poked his great toe into Jongin’s belly button to tease him. They laughed and flicked water at each other. They made plans for the future, blinding believing that they could make it work. They made promises that they didn’t know that they could keep. And finally, when Kyungsoo couldn’t hold it in anymore he got up from his end of the tub and leaned forward till his chest was flush with Jongin’s.

“I love you,” Kyungsoo confessed, words soft and fragile against a background of a fire crackling merrily.

“You’re the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen, both inside and out. Just being with you makes me happy. It doesn’t matter that we’re different. It doesn’t matter if I could never lead a normal human life, have a family, have kids, a home. If being with you means I have to spend my life on a boat, I will. I’ll never be able to hear you say how you feel, but if you like me, even a little bit, it would make me the happiest man in the world.”

The warmth that Jongin felt upon hearing those words was warmer than the fire crackling in front of him. It was warmer than the sun at noon. It was warmer than any feeling that Jongin had ever felt in his life. His heart raced in his chest and made him feel giddy with happiness.

Kyungsoo had grown silent, seemingly waiting for an answer. So Jongin told him. He took hold of Kyungsoo’s hand and placed it on his chest and told him how much he loved him.

Some emotions are so strong that you can convey them even without saying a word.

Jongin didn’t need to say anything, yet Kyungsoo knew.

Jongin loved him back more than he could imagine.

  
  
Waking up with Kyungsoo in his arms was the best and the numbest feeling in the world. Best because there was nothing that could be compared to the happiness that he felt when he first glanced at his sleeping face. Numbest because this arms and tail were numb from being under Kyungsoo’s weight the entire night.

They’d have to work out sleeping arrangements if this was going to be a regular thing. Jongin didn’t want to jump into things, but he hoped anyway.

 

  
On the way back to the beach, Jongin rode in the front of Kyungsoo’s truck with a wet sheet wrapped around him and a comfortable silence blanketing them.

They hastily cleaned up the mess that they had created the night before. Mostly Kyungsoo cleaned while Jongin watched him with a fond smile. Just in case someone decided to visit the house Kyungsoo didn’t want anyone figuring it out that people were trespassing on the property. Then he grabbed Jongin in his arms like he always did, along with a damp sheet which he borrowed from the living room and carried Jongin to his truck.

Jongin was starting to grow more and more fond of the blue truck. The way it creaked and groaned when Kyungsoo started the engine, the way it shuddered and wheezed as he pressed on the accelerator, the way it had this constant fishy smell embedded in the upholstery: Jongin loved it all.

Cruising along the empty roads in the early morning, with the window rolled down and the wind in his hair, Jongin soaked up the colours with his eyes. He admired the different shades of greens on the tree, the blue of the sky, the grey of the road. He felt the cold wind against his face and the warmth of the sun. He took it all in with great pleasure and thanked the goddess for giving him life and giving him a chance to experience it all.

But most of all he loved the sight of Kyungsoo, one hand on the steering wheel, the other entwined with his, wind in his russet red hair, a glow in his golden skin and a smile on full lips. Turning his head he caught Jongin staring at him and raised their entwined hands to kiss his knuckles. Jongin felt his heart soar with a feeling he couldn’t quite name but all that he knew was that for once in his life he wasn’t swimming, he was flying.

 

  
Once in the sea, Jongin had to leave. He hadn’t been home for a couple of days and he was sure that people would be wondering where he had gone off to. As much as he didn’t want to part with Kyungsoo, he had certain responsibilities towards his family that he couldn’t give up yet.

Kyungsoo caught hold of him right before he was about to jump.

Jongin smiled sadly at Kyungsoo and gestured to the sea. **_I have to go. They’ll be wondering where I went._**

“I know. I know. It’s just that I don’t want you to go yet.”

Jongin reached up to run his fingers over Kyungsoo’s jaw. **_I don’t want to go either._**

“I’ll miss you.”

Jongin would miss Kyungsoo too. He hadn’t left and he already missed him. He was very sad that he’d have to go a couple of days before he could see him. What he didn’t expect was for Kyungsoo to be so sad about it.

 ** _Are you crying? Why? Don’t cry._** Jongin reached up to wipe Kyungsoo’s tears. **_I’ll be back tomorrow. I promise._** He put his pinky out for Kyungsoo just like how Luhan had taught him.

Kyungsoo chuckled at that and entwined his pinky with Jongin’s. “I’m going to hold you to that promise.”

  
Jongin leaned forward and kissed Kyungsoo. As he kissed him, Jongin tasted Kyungsoo’s tears against his lips. Compared to the sea, his tears were sweet. So sweet that Jongin swooped in and kissed him again and again till they both were out of breath and panting.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Jonginnie. I’ll miss you.”

**_I’ll miss you too._ **

 

**

 

Jongin was in a very chipper mood as he swam back to the palace. He missed Kyungsoo even though he had barely seen him an hour back, but he was happy after the previous night and nothing could bring his mood down.

Well, Jongin was very wrong about that.

He was flanked by two palace guards who dragged him to the courtroom even before he could visit his grandmother and wish her a good morning.

 **Where have you been?** The King thundered as soon as he was escorted into the room. With his trident in his hand and dressed in full armour his father looked regal and dangerous; fitting for a king going to war for his people.

Jongin cowered in fear and then felt himself colour with embarrassment as he noticed that they had company. Half the courtroom was occupied by officials dressed in military gear and from the looks of it, it seemed like they were ready to go to war.

**_Don’t make me repeat myself. I command you to state your whereabouts for the past two days in front of the court, Prince Jongin._ **

**_Your Majesty, he was-_ **

**_Enough!_** The King thundered at Kris, stopping him from trying to save his brother’s tail again. ** _I know that you have been covering for him all this time. I should put you in the trenches for that, but I’m going to overlook this misdemeanour as brotherly love and pardon you one last time. If I find you trying to protect him again, I will not be as forgiving. Remember that._**

The King then turned back to Jongin who felt smaller than ever. In that room full of calculating eyes and under the wrath of his father’s anger Jongin felt like a candle flame in a hurricane. He would be blown out. There was no way he could withstand such force.

**_Our nation, our people were in crisis. A human underwater vessel while attacking another of its kind fired a missile that ended up causing casualties to our kind. Our people. As the Prince of this kingdom, it was your duty to be here for your people. To fight for them and care for them. You were here for neither. Do you have anything to say for yourself?_ **

Jongin stared at the floor. Guilt made his chest heavy and regret filled him up. What could he say? He was not there for his people when they most needed him. He was out in the human world being with a human while his own people were killed by his kind. Kyungsoo was not the same as the rest of the humans, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t one.

**_While investigating your whereabouts, we came upon a very interesting piece of information. Apparently, you have been spotted getting onto and off a human vessel several times. A fishing boat, it seems. Is there a valid reason why you would willing get on a human vessel?_ **

Jongin felt his heart drop and the pit of his stomach clench in fear. Oh no. No no no no no no. His father shouldn’t find out about him. If he found out the truth Kyungsoo would be in danger. He couldn’t let that happen.

**_Why are you so silent? Are you, by chance, plotting with those humans?_ **

Jongin shook his head vigorously. **_Of course not! How could I harm my own people?_**

**_Then why do you frequent that boat? Why are you spending more time with those that harm your brethren than training to protect your people from them?_ **

**_They….they are not like that._** Jongin tried to explain. His words were soft and sounded unconvincing to his own ears. Not that anyone would have listened to him anyway. Not when their people were hurt for no fault of their own.

 ** _Prince Jongin, as a Prince and leader of the people of this kingdom it is your duty to protect them. You have one last chance to prove your worth to your people. You are forbidden from meeting with those humans ever again. You will train. You will learn how to fight. You will learn to protect your people from those that cause them harm. If you are found disobeying my orders, you will be held in contempt of the court and will undergo trial. This is your last warning._**  
With that, his father, the King, retreated back to his throne.

 

Jongin felt helpless as he was escorted back to his room by palace guards who stationed themselves out of his door, preventing him from leaving.

Jongin was torn. On one hand, he felt grief for his people and anger towards the humans who caused them harm, while on the other hand, he felt anger towards his father for even thinking that Kyungsoo could be compared to the culprits. Kyungsoo was not one of them. Kyungsoo was innocent.

He missed him even more than before. He wanted to swim out as fast as he could to Kyungsoo’s boat and melt into a warm hug. He wanted Kyungsoo to hold him and comfort him and tell him that everything would be okay. That wasn’t possible though, not as long as the guards outside his room stood watch.

Jongin tried all kinds of tricks to escape. He tried to swim past them in the dark of the night. He tried faking an illness. He tried making an excuse to go meet his grandmother. He even tried to fight his guards. He was still stuck in his room six days later which showed how unsuccessful he had been in escaping.

He was worried that Kyungsoo would be worried about him. They had never gone so long without seeing each other without prior notice. They always made sure to tell the other if they’d be gone for more than two days. Jongin had been gone for six days. Kyungsoo would be worried sick about him and that made Jongin worry.

Jongin. Kris rushed into his room, pulling him out of the pity party he was throwing for himself. He looked ruffled. Kris rarely ever looked ruffled, always managing to pull off the regal look effortlessly.

**_Kris? What happened?_ **

**_Father found out._ **

**_Found out what?_** Jongin was confused and scared at the same time. His father couldn’t have possibly figured out what was going on between Jongin and Kyungsoo, could he?

**_About your deal with the witch._ **

**_What? How? Who told him?_ **

**_She did. She approached the rescue party while they were tending to the wounded and asked them how you were doing. By the time I reached Father’s side she was telling him that she needed a soul of a human in return. That is the price for what he wanted. I tried to stop her after that. I really did. But she was gone so quickly none of us could even see in which direction she had gone. I tried to catch her but I couldn’t find her. I’m sorry, Jongin. I tried. I really did._** Kris hung his head in shame as if he had failed Jongin terribly.

Jongin squeezed Kris’s shoulder. **_Hey, it’s okay. There’s nothing you could have done. I already made the deal with her. There’s nothing you could have done to undo it._**

 ** _I’m still sorry though. I should have been there when she ratted you out to Father. I should have stopped her before that._** Kris still refused to meet Jongin’s eyes.

 ** _Don’t beat yourself up over that. It’s not your fault. Hey, look at me._** Jongin caught hold of Kris’s face between his hands and levelled himself up so that he could look him right in the eye. **_You’ve done more than enough for me. More than anyone has ever done for me. For that, I’m ever grateful. Don’t you ever feel sorry towards me for anything. Okay?_**

Kris smiled at him and nodded. **_Okay._**

 ** _But what did Father ask for that he’d have to pay her with a human soul for it?_** Jongin pondered over what Kris had told him.

 ** _I don’t know. Whatever he asked for must have been a big deal._** Kris reasoned.

**_I hope Father doesn’t go through with it. I really do._ **

**_Me too, Nini, me too._ **

 

  
A few hours later Jongin was once again wallowing in despair after Kris told him that he couldn’t smuggle him out, not without risking his own life, but he’d pass a message on to Kyungsoo in Jongin wanted him to. Jongin had asked him to tell Kyungsoo that Jongin was fine and that he’d see him as soon as he managed to escape. At the end, he had very shyly tacked on an “ _ **also tell him that I love him**_ ” while blushing like crazy.

Kris laughed merrily at him and ruffled his hair before going back to his duties as Crown Prince.

  
Now, the sound of metal clashing right outside his room made Jongin sit up in worry.

**_As Crown Prince of this Kingdom, I command you to stand down and let me in._ **

**With all respect, My Lord, we were given direct orders by the King to not let anyone in or out of this room for the rest of the day.** Jongin’s guards replied  

 ** _Well, I have no choice then._** Kris sounded calmest when he was most angry and the calm manner in which he said that made Jongin’s blood run cold. He heard the clash of metal and vibrations bounded through the water, making his scales stand up, followed by a couple of thumps and cries of pain.

Kris rushed into Jongin’s room, his trident in his hand. **_Jongin come on! We need to go  Now!_**

 ** _Why?_** Jongin was scared. **_What’s going on?_**

 ** _No time. I’ll explain on the way. Now, come on!_** Kris rushed out of Jongin’s room and he followed, trying to keep up with him.

 ** _Kris. What happened? Please tell me._** Jongin begged Kris as they swam away from the castle.

**_The deal that Father made with the witch. It was about turning you into a warrior. Making you big and strong like us._ **

**_What?_** Jongin couldn’t comprehend what Kris was getting at. And what did that have to do with how worked up Kris was?

**_Father wants to turn you into a warrior. He wants to make you big, strong and fast._ **

**_Is that a bad thing?_** Jongin was confused. He liked who he was. He didn’t want to be big or strong or fast. He wanted to be him. But that didn’t explain why Kris was swimming like his life depended on it. Jongin was trying very hard to keep up but he still couldn’t match his speed.

**_It is if he is going to pay her for it with a human life._ **

Jongin froze for a second when he heard that. He had forgotten about it. When he realised that Kris was swimming ahead of him, not having stopped Jongin pushed himself to swim faster and catch up.

 ** _We need to save his life. Whoever that human is. We can’t let him get hurt._** Jongin wouldn’t be able to live with himself if that ever happened.

**_Of course not. Especially not when he’s Kyungsoo._ **

Jongin was so shocked he flipped his tail wrong and he went spiralling downwards in the water. Kyungsoo? His father was going to take Kyungsoo’s soul? His Kyungsoo? Was his father cruel enough to use Kyungsoo to teach him a lesson? No, he couldn’t be. Jongin would die if something ever happened to him. He couldn’t allow anything to happen to him.

 **Jongin! Jongin! Snap out of it!** They were on the ocean floor and Kris was shaking him and slapping his face in an attempt to break him out of his blackout. **_Snap out of it. We can’t waste time. Father has sent the sharks. We need to get there first. We need to get there before them._**

 ** _The sharks?_** Jongin’s chest went cold with fear.

**_Yes. So come on. We don’t have time!_ **

Jongin swam faster than he had ever swim in his life. He put in every ounce of strength and willpower he had into powering his tail and cutting through the water so fast that Kris was having difficulty catching up with him.

 ** _Please be safe. Please be safe._** He kept chanting, again and again, praying desperately to the Sea Goddess to keep Kyungsoo safe.

 

There is something about Jongin and bad fate. He was born under the wrong stars. He was born as an unlucky child. He refused to believe this as a kid, even when the court shaman described to him how unlucky he was in great detail. Now, he felt that maybe the shaman was right. He was so unlucky that his bad luck rubbed off on others too.

Jongin and Kris caught sight of the boat right when the sharks were ramming against the side, trying to tip it over.

One.

Jongin pushed himself with the last bit of strength he had.

Two.

**_Come on. Faster._ **

Three.

The boat tipped over and two bodies fell into the water along with a huge load of dead fish.

The sharks went crazy with frenzy. The smell of food driving their primal instincts to the forefront. They didn’t see what they were trying to eat, they just chomped down on everything within reach.

Unfortunately, one of those things was Luhan’s leg. Blood poured out into the water, colouring it red, driving the sharks mad with lust.

 ** _Take care of Luhan. I’ll help Kyungsoo._** Jongin told Kris when they were close enough, swimming for Kyungsoo who was desperately kicking in the water to break out of the circle that sharks had made around him.

Jongin pulled out the knife that he kept in the belt at his waist and sliced into the belly of the nearest shark, pulling his knife out and kicking the shark away. A few of the other sharks followed, swimming towards the source of blood, eager for food even if it was one of their own.

 ** _Kyungsoo. Come. Take my hand._** He threw his hand out to Kyungsoo, beckoning him to grab it so that he could help them away.

What he didn’t see coming was the shark going for his hand, biting down on his arm and making him shriek with pain. He felt another set of teeth clamp down on his tail and he cried in pain again. Desperately trying to get himself free, he struggled against the sharks.  
Luckily for him Kyungsoo had his back. He fearlessly kicked at the sharks. Punching their heads, kicking at their bellies. He hit and hit at them till they let go  
of Jongin. When he felt the teeth lose their grip on him, Jongin felt immense relief. They had let go of him. He wasn’t going to die. Kyungsoo had saved him.

The thing about sharks is that they don’t let go. They never let go. If they do, it’s because they have found bigger prey, better prey. Prey that they want to chase. Prey that they want to kill. Kyungsoo had made himself a target and this time they weren’t going to let go that easily.

Sharp teeth and strong jaws dug into his chest and abdomen. What little air he had left in his lungs fled out in that moment of surprise.

**_Kyungsoo! Nooooo!_ **

Jongin fought against the sharks with what little strength he had left and they let go of Kyungsoo who started floating down before Jongin to could catch him.

Down and down Kyungsoo went, his hand reaching out upwards to Jongin as if saying, “catch me Jonginnie. Catch me and don’t let go.”

Jongin swam down towards Kyungsoo, his injured tail making every little twist hurt. His own hand was stretched out, reaching out to Kyungsoo as if saying, **_take my hand. Please. Take it and don’t let go._**

But Kyungsoo was sinking too quickly and Jongin was too injured to swim fast enough. In those last few moments that they had together, so so close yet so so far, they stared into each other’s eyes with longing. They knew what their fate was going to be yet they didn’t want to let go. They wanted to hold on for a second longer.

The end came even if they fought hard against it, and Kyungsoo let out the last bit of breath in his lungs, the bubble floating up slowly, carrying his last message to Jongin.

 

**

 

Sitting upon the upturned boat, Jongin held Kyungsoo in his arms as he cried tears of anguish; anguish so profound that pearls fell out of his eyes.

Mermaids can’t cry. But when they feel great despair, despair beyond that which can be described with words, pearls flow out of their eyes. Such was the grief that he felt by the loss of his love.

 ** _Please,_** he begged, **_oh Goddess, Mother of the Sea, take me instead. Take my life instead. Let him live. He doesn’t deserve to die._**

He held Kyungsoo’s head close to his chest, hugging him tightly. Pearls fell from Jongin’s eyes and rolled over the Kyungsoo’s body, some sticking in his hair, some in the hollow of his collarbone, collecting in nooks and corners before rolling off and into the sea.

 ** _Please take my life instead of his. Goddess, I beg of you. He deserves to live a long life. He deserves to live. I’ll pay for his life with mine. I’ll die a painful death if that’s a price I have to pay. But please…._** Jongin broke down, his body shuddering with the force if his sobs, the lump in his throat and pain in his chest getting bigger and bigger till he couldn’t breathe without hurting.

The Goddess, Mother of the Sea, felt pity for the poor boy. She felt his pain, his grief, his helplessness, his love. He could beg all he wanted but it was all for naught. He was dying too. His time was coming to an end too.

A soul once departed from a body cannot be revived, only reborn. And maybe if they are lucky they might meet each other and fall in love again.

But sometimes, very special sometimes, when someone’s pain touches her, the Mother of the Sea shows her kindness.

Their love was so beautiful, so magical, she didn’t want it to be lost when reborn so she decided to help them live together, forever; by making their love eternal.

She waved her hands and their souls departed from their bodies, swirling in the sky and transforming. She picked up a pearl that had fallen out of Jongin’s eyes- the most perfect one of them all- and gently guided Kyungsoo’s soul into it. Then she waved her hands in a dance till the foam of the sea lifted up in the air and mixed with Jongin’s transforming soul, turning it white and shaping it.

When she was done she held a sparkling white oyster in her hands. The mermaid boy was the oyster and within him, right where his heart was, sat a pearl- the love of his life- Kyungsoo.

She smiled as she let them float in the sea, multiplying, spreading near and far, spreading the message of their eternal love. They could live happily together, forever.

This is technically the end, and their happily ever after but I forgot to tell you the most important thing.

You know how oysters open up sometimes and let out a bubble of air that floats up, up and up till it becomes one with the wind?  
That’s because the mermaid boy and the human boy are reliving their last moments together, again and again, thousands of times, in thousands of lifetimes. 

 

  
As Kyungsoo sank down, just out of reach of Jongin, he used his last breath to tell him one thing: the most important thing.

“I love you, Jonginnie.”

 

And every time an oyster opens up and lets out a bubble, it is Jongin who is saying, _**I love you too.**_

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is a thank you note for K. Everyday I learn something new from you. Thank you for that.


End file.
